Chest tube insertion cost in Wisconsin

Prices at 83 hospitals in Wisconsin, from their machine-readable files. Here the median cash price is $1,202 — 12% below the US median ($1,361), roughly 8.4× the Medicare rate.

Lowest cash prices

HospitalLocationCashInsurerCMS ratingER waitReadmit
St Croix Regional Medical Center Saint Croix Falls, WI $309 $176 ★ 3/5 144 min —
Gundersen Boscobel Area Hospital and Clinics Boscobel, WI $405 $629 — 116 min —
Beloit Health System Beloit, WI $463 $1,381 ★ 3/5 129 min —
Sauk Prairie Hospital Prairie Du Sac, WI $641 $1,500 ★ 5/5 152 min —
Burnett Medical Center Grantsburg, WI $686 — — — —
Hudson Hospital Hudson, WI $736 $553 ★ 5/5 117 min —
Vernon Memorial Hospital Viroqua, WI $760 $116 — 138 min —
Fort Memorial Hospital Fort Atkinson, WI $765 $1,497 ★ 4/5 171 min —
River Falls Area Hospital River Falls, WI $774 $1,066 ★ 5/5 96 min —
Richland Hospital Richland Center, WI $864 $194 ★ 1/5 100 min —
Gundersen St Josephs Hospital and Clinics Hillsboro, WI $908 $1,404 — 121 min —
Gundersen Moundview Hospital and Clinics Friendship, WI $908 $1,404 — 73 min —
Gundersen Tri-County Hospital & Clinics Whitehall, WI $908 $1,404 — 120 min —
Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County Darlington, WI $910 $535 — 106 min —
Ascension Columbia St Marys Hospital Milwaukee Milwaukee, WI $915 $614 ★ 3/5 167 min —
Westfields Hospital and Clinic New Richmond, WI $984 $773 ★ 4/5 108 min —
Mercy Walworth Hospital & Medical Center Lake Geneva, WI $986 $5,378 ★ 3/5 126 min —
Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin Milwaukee, WI $998 $1,543 — — —
Froedtert South Inc. Kenosha, WI $1,047 $1,579 ★ 2/5 157 min —
Community Memorial Hospital Menomonee Falls, WI $1,047 $1,579 ★ 4/5 219 min —
Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital Milwaukee, WI $1,047 $1,579 ★ 3/5 275 min —
Froedtert Community Hospital New Berlin, WI $1,047 $1,579 — 125 min —
Black River Memorial Hospital Black River Falls, WI $1,100 $564 — 102 min —
Ascension Ne Wisconsin-St Elizabeth Campus Appleton, WI $1,144 $156 ★ 4/5 143 min —
Ascension All Saints Hospital Racine, WI $1,160 $619 ★ 2/5 146 min —

CMS rating = overall hospital star rating (1–5); ER wait = median minutes in the emergency department; Readmit = 30-day readmission rate (lower is better) — all from Medicare’s Care Compare; “—” = not reported. Data last updated October 2026. Prices from hospitals’ machine-readable files (45 CFR §180); Medicare benchmark from CMS PFS/CLFS/IPPS. Prices below 15% of the median are excluded as likely partial or mis-coded charges. Estimates — confirm with the hospital. Report an incorrect price.

Price comparison (median)

Chargemaster (list price)
$1,849
Cash / self-pay
$1,202
Insurer-negotiated
$1,497
Medicare pays
$143
$755$2,093
Median cash $1,202  ·  Medicare $143  ·  bar = typical cash range (10th–90th percentile)
Is this a fair price?
1× Medicarefair ≈2×5×+

Typical cash price here is $1,202 — about 8.4× the Medicare rate ($143). High vs Medicare. A fair cash price is usually within ~2× Medicare ($286).

💡 Asking for the cash price instead of the $1,849 list price could save about $647 (35%).

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Rough estimate from this procedure’s median insurer-negotiated rate. Your actual cost depends on your plan — confirm with your insurer.

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Chest tube insertion cost in other states

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